Innovative idea, but for me personally this is a tough call. Expecting mass sums of children to scoot off to college at the tender age of 14 could deprive them of my own similar fond memories of four years of high school, i.e., the girls, sports, and ESPECIALLY debating my liberal journalism teacher, to the point where he turned red in the face, speechless, after losing an argument, embarrassed, as the rest of the students laughed and looked on. That was but one priceless moment I'll never forget.

Just think, instead you could've been debating your liberal Comp I teacher in college, LOL!

My son started full time in our local college at 15. He's 16 now and about to finish his 2nd year with enough credits for an AA, but he's going to continue in the program for another year...what would be his senior year in high school.

The main problem I've found with this (other than having to drive him back and forth to the campus the first year because he wasn't old enough for a driver's license yet) is that my 16 year old doesn't really have a clue about what he'd like to major in.

That's why we're staying in the dual enrollment program for another year. At 16 his ambitions consist of being a professional rock climber or a whitewater rafting guide, LOL.

But he seems to have a propensity for math and science, so once he'd met his general reqs. we just kept building on that, taking each subsequent math course and science course.

If he gets to the point where he doesn't understand the math or can't comprehend the science, that's okay, we'll change directions, but in the meantime, we're following that course.

He's going to read a book on the different Engineering professions, right now he's more inclined toward Chemistry than the other sciences, so we'll see.

Of course, we've told him once he has a degree, if he still wants to be a whitewater rafting guide, and it's okay with his wife (when he's married) if he makes only $15,000 a year, then it's okay with us, LOL!

To fast track a kid through an high school equivalent (not too difficult, given the dumbing down of the curriculum) and preferably to give the child more, one would have to start with the basic realization that one is talking about a school program for gifted (and even extremely gifted) children. If the program is to be organized beyond home schooling by a single family, one would immediately be faced with the pupil selection - if you admit only the kids with IQ 150 and higher, you will have to turn away a kid with IQ 149 (and his/her parents with ACLU lawyers). Thus the proposed program would have to be private (to keep PC out), tuition-free (so that it could - as it should - discriminate. Paying customer has rights; recipient of largesse does not) - and thus will have to cost a bundle.

Actually, anyone who wants to can sign up to take the GED, and it would be no different for someone signing up for the FR HS diploma. Whoever passes gets to go on to college. Not nearly as complicated as you've made it out to be.

I was talking about the ability to absorb high school curriculum on highly accelerated schedule. To do that, one needs some mental equipment. To receive way more in allotted time (there were special schools in Russia in 60's, where (IQ) selected children were studying topology and multidimensional geometry at tender ages of 13-14) takes that same equipment. It is from this stuff 14 year old college students are made. Yes, it is doable (I witnessed it myself), but only with selected pupils; and it takes a highly concentrated effort to do it.

I think it's doable by any kid who sets his mind to it. Even by the ones in the middle of the bell curve of aptitude.

In my current school district, the high school sent out some kind of circular which mentioned that 90% of the kids had passed the exit exam requirements WHEN THEY WERE FRESHMEN. That tells me that 90% of those kids are wasting their time. The only thing they'd be missing by taking advantage of such a program is some physical harrassment, useless peer pressure, and PC policies.

There is a verse by Igor Guberman, I took the liberty to translate it verbatim (please take me at my word that it IS a verse in the language of the original). I'd say it is pertinent to the topic.Environment and chance are strong and weighty, And still genetics trumps it all: For no matter how much one tortures them with education, Still barrels do not give birth to Diogeneses... Renaissance thinker Francesco Guicciardini, too, observed that "Learning inflicted upon weak minds does not improve them, and is frequently ruinous".

Good article. Very sad how today's kids feel they need to drop f-bombs everywhere.

As another off-topic aside, I was looking to link to an article on FR that was about some family suing the education administrators because their kid was so bright but couldn't afford to go to high school. One of the phrases in the article that I thought was interesting was the growing viewpoint (probably invalid) that sees access to education as a right which follows you, or something like that.

That's too funny being that my best friend is a Comp. I teacher and I am debating him all the time already! I wish your son the best of luck -- he sure sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders (as well as wonderful parents!).

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